Life of Pi might not make you believe in God, as a character in the film suggests. It does, however, make you believe in the power of story, the way humans use them to explain or overcome trials the world deems necessary to drop us in, one of the many things that differentiates us from the wild creatures of the animal world.
PLOT: The story of Pi (Suraj Sharma)- a sixteen year-old Indian boy, who survives a shipwreck, and finds himself adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger- named Richard Parker. Not only does Pi have to try and survive on the open ocean, but he also has to use all of his ingenuity to keep the tiger tame and fed- lest it devour him.
REVIEW: An adaptation of Yann Martel’s landmark novel, which none other than Barack Obama once called “an elegant proof of God”, LIFE OF PI was a book many considered unfilmable. Considering that the majority of the book is about a teen boy trapped on a lifeboat with a man-eating tiger, it must have been a logistical nightmare.
But how is the movie itself?
Actually pretty great, for the most part. Director Ang Lee tends to be hit an miss for me. I'm one of the few that thought CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON was wildly overrated (any Shaw Bros., film is far better), and I despised his take on THE HULK. But, I also loved THE ICE STORM, and I thought BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was a masterpiece. While LIFE OF PI isn't quite on that level, it can't be denied that Lee has probably made the best adaptation of Yann Martel's book that's possible. While I found the first half-hour a little frenzied, and jarring in it's flashback/flash-forward technique, once the shipwreck kicks in, and Pi finds himself adrift, it becomes pretty astonishing.
While it's certainly almost a one-man show, LIFE OF PI does have a few juicy supporting parts, the most important being Irrfan Khan as the older Pi, and Rafe Spall as Martel. Khan is good as always- especially towards the end, while Spall as a fairly blank role, once which (apparently) was originally filmed with Tobey Maguire, until Lee decided having a star in such a minor part would be distracting (he's right).
All told, I thought LIFE OF PI was a pretty great film, and certainly something that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible at the most technically advanced theater you can find. I'd also say that it's an excellent film for kids- although the shipwreck (an amazing setpiece) is intense, and some of the animals meet rather untimely ends. That said, this is really one the whole family can enjoy- and hopefully it'll be successful. It certainly deserves to be.
Mr. Exclusive's Rating:
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